An expedition led by Australian “climate change” professor Chris Turney that set out by ship to document the effects of global warming on the Antarctic became trapped in thick ice on Christmas eve. Ice breakers were unable to get to the stranded ship, and those trapped aboard have been rescued by helicopter:

A rescue mission to evacuate scientists, tourists and journalists from a ship trapped in ice off Antarctica has passed off smoothly, with 52 people removed from the stricken vessel.

A helicopter sent from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long landed next to the trapped Akademik Shokalskiy on Thursday afternoon and the first group of passengers were evacuated shortly after 8pm local time (7am GMT). The passengers were taken off in five groups, with two further flights to pick up their baggage. Each flight took around 20 minutes each way.

Four expedition staff were the last to leave the trapped ship. The Russian crew will remain aboard to free the ship when the ice around it breaks up – possibly when there is a change in wind direction in a few days.

This global warming expedition could be a self-fulfilling prophecy unless somebody plant a few trees to offset the rescue effort.